BTN News: In recent years, Major League Baseball (MLB) has seen a significant shift in how teams utilize their pitching staff, with a noticeable decline in the number of innings pitched by starting pitchers. This evolution reflects a broader trend in the game, where the reliance on bullpens with high-velocity arms has diminished the role of starting pitchers. However, in a move reminiscent of fashion designers reviving past trends, MLB’s innovation and development team is considering a significant change that could bring starting pitchers back to the forefront of the game. The league is currently evaluating a proposal to mandate a minimum of six innings for starting pitchers, a move aimed at restoring their prominence and reducing the risk of arm injuries that have become increasingly common.
This potential change is driven by both marketing considerations and a desire to maintain a balance in the game, which has increasingly focused on strikeouts in recent seasons. According to a report from ESPN, the proposal would only allow a starting pitcher to exit the game before completing six innings if they have thrown over 100 pitches, allowed four or more runs, or suffered a justifiable injury. Additionally, there is a consideration to introduce a rule where teams that fail to keep their starter in the game for six innings would lose their designated hitter, a concept already tested in the Atlantic League, an independent baseball league. In that league, the designated hitter is forfeited once the starting pitcher leaves the game, adding a strategic layer to how teams manage their pitchers.
While this change may not be implemented immediately, as MLB has not yet begun testing these rules in the minor leagues, it represents a significant shift in how the game could be played in the future. Teams would need ample time to adjust, stretching out their pitchers and reconsidering workload management to align with the new expectations. The commissioner’s office is particularly interested in this change as it seeks to have starting pitchers spend more time on the mound rather than in the operating room, recovering from arm surgeries. This proposed adjustment also aims to counterbalance the game’s recent tilt towards strikeouts, bringing a more diverse set of outcomes and strategies back into play.
Historically, starting pitchers have been a central figure in baseball, with their average innings pitched remaining relatively stable at 6.5 innings from 1950 to 1979. However, this figure began to decline in the 1980s, dropping to an average of 6.1 innings per start from 1980 to 1999. The trend continued into the new millennium, with averages falling to 5.8 innings from 2000 to 2019, and further to just 5 innings per start between 2020 and 2023. This season, the average is slightly higher at 5.1 innings per start, but still a far cry from the earlier decades when starting pitchers routinely worked deep into games.
The decline in innings pitched is not the only indicator of the changing role of starters. The complete game, once a common achievement for starting pitchers, has become increasingly rare. During the 1950s, teams averaged 52 complete games per season, but this number steadily decreased over the following decades. By the 1980s, the average had fallen to 18 complete games per team per year. From 2010 to 2019, the average was just five per team, and since 2020, it has plummeted to an average of one complete game per team per season. This season, only 25 complete games have been recorded across the league, with pitchers like Cristopher Sánchez, Max Fried, and Kevin Gausman each leading the majors with just two complete games apiece.
MLB’s consideration of a six-inning minimum for starting pitchers represents a potential return to a bygone era when starters were expected to carry a significant workload and dominate the game. If implemented, this rule could reshape the strategy teams use to manage their pitching staff, potentially reducing the reliance on bullpens and encouraging a more traditional approach to starting pitching. Whether this initiative will ultimately be adopted remains to be seen, but it underscores the league’s ongoing efforts to balance tradition with the evolving dynamics of the game.
